A New Ocean Acoustic Model in Computational Oceanographic Physics

Computational ocean acoustics is an important aspect of oceanographic physics. In this paper, a new ocean acoustic model is developed in computational oceanographic physics, which is called ray-mode-parabolic equation (RMPE) theory. The RMPE solution is expressed in terms of the normal modes in vertical direction and the mode coefficients in horizontal direction. The model is based on the beam-displacement ray- mode (BDRM) theory and the parabolic equation (PE) method. By using the BDRM theory, the normal mode analysis can be processed efficiently and rapidly. The PE method is used to solve the wave equations for mode coefficients. The numerical simulations on sound propagation and the comparison with experimental data from a sloping-bottom area in South China Sea are discussed. The results show that it is efficient and practical to apply this model to solving problems involing underwater sound propagation in range-dependent ocean.